Abstract
A development of PIE *ā peculiar to Attic, resulting in the merger of *ā with *ē except after e, i, r.
Attic-Ionic differed from other dialect groups in its treatment of PIE *ā. While other dialects typically retained *ā as [ɑ̄] (written as α), in Att.-Ion. *ā merged with inherited *ē (written as η), as seen with timḗ below. In Att., however, some cases of expected [ē] after [e, i, r] surface as [ɑ̄], as seen with neā́, oikíā, and khṓrā:
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| Att. | Ion. | other dialects |
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| timḗ | timḗ | timā́ | ‘honor’ |
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| neā́ | neḗ | neā́ | ‘new’ |
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| oikíā | oikíē | oikíā | ‘house’ |
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| khṓrā | khṓrē… |